‘INFERNO’ filming locations

INFERNO MOVIE LOCATIONS FLORENCE

The ‘Inferno’ movie makes a strong reference to Dante Alighieri far beyond his well-known tragedies and impersonates the passion to Florence in professor Robert Langdon, our all-time protagonist of the series. The filming crew did an incredible work on the site, taking the most recognized historical landmarks of the city as the means to explore the story and to push its own characters through the danger and fire, betrayal and loyalty. All of the Inferno filming locations are accessible to the public and can be visited within a few hours of staying in this beautiful Italian city.

CHASING THE BILLIONAIRE

A man, who has been dominating our attention within the intro scenes with stage confidence and emotional visions of the upcoming overpopulated future, now is taking his away along the stone-block pavement of Florence. The camera perspective gratifies our excitement with a panorama over the city, a patrimonial home for the Medici family and the heart of Toscana. The next change of the shot takes us to a narrow street between closed merchant pavilions, turned out to be no less than a famous PONTE VECCHIO bridge over the river of Arno. The historical traffic artery has been preserving pretty the same appearance for the last seven centuries, with jewelry stores superseding the butcheries and casual workers.        

The chased man makes a few corrections of his running route to find himself within another recognized landmark of the city of Florence, known as the PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA square. The former heart of the political life of the Florentine Republic was once named after the palace, generally known nowadays as the PALAZZO VECCHIO. In the narrow movie sense, these incredible panoramic shots were taken as the bird’s eye panorama above the famous palace with its tower of 94 meters high. 

BADIA FIORENTINA, a Christian abbey and a shelter for the monks with a thousand-year history, now comes to be the final destination of the foot chase. Mr. Zobrist takes one’s own life with a free will jump from the height of the tower, built up back in 1330. This Inferno movie location was not an accident choice and plays into the overall idea of the story, devoted to Dante. The historical landmark just across the abbey is no less than a home-museum of Dante Alighieri with a cozy VIA DANTE ALIGHIERI street nearby.     

PORTA ROMANA – FINDING WAY INTO BOBOLI GARDENS

While theorizing the danger of the mass extinction and the nature of their pursuers, Robert and Siena find their way to the site, which once used to be the Southern entrance to the fortified Florence of the XIV century. The massive stone gates known as PORTA ROMANA (The Roman Gate) links a number of traffic lines, including the VIA ROMANA (The Roman road), which can grant the shortest way to the city center and the Palazzo Vecchio. Robert and Sienna leave the auto and now have to look the alternative way across the Arno river. The Professor uses the parked bicycles to sneak into the GIARDINO DI BOBOLI (The Boboli Gardens) to pass without meeting the police and paying the entry fee of 10 euros. It is to be mentioned that the very location of scaling the wall, in fact, grants access to the ‘Giardino dell Istituto Statale d’Arte’ garden nearby, rather than to Boboli gardens.      

BOBOLI GARDENS AND THE SECRET PATH

The police use the drone to look through the whole territory of the luxurious florentine park and the very next shot teleports the viewer one kilometer away from the launch area to have the magnificent panorama over the gardens and the Neptune Fontaine. Without breaking the action, professor Langdon reveals the knowledge about the secret passage within the Boboli Gardens. Our adventure couple finally reaches the grey door without any security or even a lock to restrict access for the tourists. This door can be indeed found only a few steps from the PALAZZO PITTI, at arm’s end from the guard post and the north exit.    

VASARI CORRIDOR – ON THE WAY TO PALAZZO VECCHIO 

The panorama of the PONTE VECCHIO bridge, already familiar to us by means of the intro sequence with Zobrist, now merges into the scene with Langdon and Brooks finding their way along the non-crowded corridor, full of art objects. VASARI CORRIDOR was created at the end of the XVI century to grant a safe and secret passage for Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany to avoid the mob on his way across the Arno river. In addition to the titanic construction work, the two-century merchant traditions on Ponte Vecchio were to be reconsidered. The butcheries were forcibly moved away for the Duke to enclose the ruler from the ‘unpleasant’ smell, who had used the passage no more than twice in a day.     

PALAZZO VECCHIO

We once again see our main characters within the UFFIZI GALLERY and then inside the PALAZZO VECCHIO. Indeed, it takes time to leave the gallery building and then to enter the palace across the road with a new-bought ticket and some restrictions. Robert and Sienna finally get ourselves into one among the most grandiose spaces not only in Italy, rather in the whole world, known as ‘Salone Dei Cinquecento’. The professor sharpens wit to examine ‘The Battle of Marciano’ painting, which reflects the battle dated 1554, once marked the loss of independence for the Republic of Siena. The art-and-historical dispute of two is being interrupted by Marta Alvarez, a museum curator of Palazzo Vecchio. The new trio takes their way to the next script location, the death-mask of DANTE ALIGHIERI, a genius who once had the same passion for Florence and professor Langdon now has.    

After an unexpected examination of the videotapes and the ‘burglars’ of the priceless museum item, Robert and Sienna have no much choice but to run away. We see their attempt to leave the Palace by means of the main entrance-exit within the ‘Cortile di Michelozzo’, a courtyard which has the same look as at the end of the XV century. Passing through the halls of the Palazzo Vecchio, the professor reveals Sienna another secret passage, behind the ‘Armenia’ map, one among the 53 of the kind. This room is known as the ‘Hall of Geographical Maps’, the creation of the same Vasari, who had created the corridor across the Arno river and created a number of paintings for the interior of the Salone Dei Cinquecento. A few moments later our couple finds themselves above the famous ‘Hall of Five Hundred’ and ‘assist’ the assassin to fall through the ceiling, damaging the precious paintings. Robert and Sienna leave the Palace by means of the ‘secret’ door and continue the way along the narrow Via Della Ninna street.   

BATTISTERO SAN GIOVANNI

Sienna feels confused and vertigo and our couple take a brief stop within one of the cozy by-streets of Florence, a route prelude before another Florentine landmark, well-known as the CATTEDRALE DI SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE within the Piazza Del Duomo square. The very fact of the reconstruction and entrance restriction has never been on the concern of Professor Langdon and they sneak into the Baptistry, closed for the repair works. It’s the fact that this Christian sanctuary, a baptize cradle for Dante and a number of Medici natives, is generally overcrowded with tourists. The Professor and Sienna find the death-mask as well as the hidden encryption on it. The new information defines Venice as the next traveling adventure point.       

MOVING TO VENICE

The newly formed trio chooses ‘Italotreno’ train to master their way to the North-east of Italy, which generally takes 2 hours and 6 minutes for the every-hour train to pass the incredible landscaped of Toscana, Emilia Romania, and Venice regions. As judged from the 2:49 PM time at the San Marco square, the characters most likely used the train, which leaves Florence at 10:54 AM. The movie leaves the train starting point off-screen, yet it is Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station. As the consequence of a trick to free from Bouchard, Robert and Sienna leave the train within the PADOVA CENTRALE station. In fact, this small Italian town is distanced 40 km from Venice and it takes time to get back on another train to get to the destination point for Robert and Sienna.     

GRAND-CANAL

It’s hard to imagine a cinematic visit to Venice without a breathtaking panorama of the city, once beautified ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’, ‘The Tourist’ and ‘Casino Royale’. We can observe our couple of main characters inside the private boat and ignoring the public Vaporetto transport, yet both start its way along the Grand-Canal on a pier near the SANTA LUCIA train station. The next perspective is to be no less than a famous movie location. The boat passes the unobvious pier, a place where professor Indiana Jones did ‘embark’ Kazim after the incredible boat chase. The roof of this very Barbaro Palace has once granted us with the upper shots, montaged to become a chase after Johnny Depp. The right side of the panorama reveals the stone terrace of the ‘Peggy Guggenheim’ art gallery, a restaurant location for Depp and Angelina Jolie. Then the boat passes near the Salute pier, once welcomed Indiana Jones and Marcus Brody with the famous: ‘Ah, Venice’ phrase.        

SAN-MARCO SQUARE

Robert and Sienna find oneself within one of the most recognized and touristic-desired squares in the whole world and the professor points out the statues of the horsemen on the balcony of the BASILICA DI SAN MARCO. Being concerned with the next step and the chase, the seeker of the truth has to disturb the Italian guide to reveals the story of decapitating the horses. The two come to the conclusion that they have missed not only the Basilica,  rather a country. They spot their pursuer in a crowd within the San Marco square and make their way from the lodge through the crypts. Professor states: ‘There is always a way out’ and Sienna leaves him alone to become a victim of detective Bouchard.      

LANGDON LEAVING VENICE

A few minutes after the frustrating ‘betrayal’ by Sienna, a semi-conscious Langdon is being ‘shipped’ on a small boat. Giving a second glance to this unobvious movie location, it’s not a challenge to make an identification of the channel known as the Rio Del Palazzo (River at the Palace), which is indeed located behind the Basilica Di San Marco. The long-distance perspective of the shot reveals a crowd of tourists within the so-called ‘Bridge of Sighs’ or PONTE DEI SOSPIRI in Italian. The professor with the red eyes finds himself among the boats on repair and the location is presumably taken in the Western part of the Venice archipelago.      

INFERNO MOVIE LOCATIONS IN ISTANBUL

The Italian woman guide revealed a painful truth to Robert Langdon and Sienna Brooks, that they had chosen the ‘wrong’ city in an attempt to find the hidden ‘black death’. A new goal is no less than finding the cradle of Enrico Dandolo, a man who initiated the Crusade, which once leads to the sack of Constantinople. The disheartened professor admits, that Istanbul in Turkey is the right destination for the two seekers. It is the city to witness this final movie battle for the sake of mankind against the madman and the medieval ‘black death’.     

GRAND BAZAAR 

The panoramic bird’s view of another great city Istanbul is being followed by the scene with Sienna Brooks, walking her away between the narrow merchant streets. It’s not hard to guess that the ancient city has dozens of markets, from small historical ones to the gigantic modern glass pavilions, yet it would be inexcusable for the movie makers to waste a chance to shoot at the KAPALI CARSI (Grand Market), recently movie-recognizable thanks to 007 and Bond’s chase along the roof in ‘Skyfall’. Regardless of the blurred background, a piece of attentiveness is enough to recognize the streets of the world-famous market of Istanbul. A few seconds after the character of Felicity Jones leaves the indoor covered part of the market, we follow her along the cozy merchant street with a SAHAFLAR CARSISI sign, which identifies the biggest book market in a city, indeed located just a few steps from the ‘Grand Market’.  

ISTANBUL UNIVERSITY

Sienna now has poor assistance to follow the signs without Professor Langdon, being alone in a big city of Istanbul. Taking into consideration the important historical mission to save mankind, as she takes this, she now has to attain a commitment. One can satisfy the aesthetic nature with the panorama at the University of Istanbul. A magnificent building within a frame is not an educational complex of building, yet a gate to the territory of what can be characterized as the campus. Every movie more passionater and traveler have a chance to witness the same perspective within the Beyazit Meydani (Meydani Square), in fact, only a few hundred meters distanced from the book market and the Grand Market of Istanbul.    

GETTING TO THE CITY CENTER

The Inferno movie regains our excitement to Professor Langdon and his friend Elizabeth, who have just landed as the Istanbul. As reflected by the upcoming route along the city waterfront, the ATATURK AIRPORT, the main transport hub at the times of the filmmaking, is meant to be the starting point to get to the city center. The next panoramic sequence follows the World Health Organization motorcade lengthwise the KENNEDY AVENUE, a 13-kilometer highway, which links the Ataturk airport with the city center. On the left side we could recognize the WALLS OF CONSTANTINOPLE, a defensive line, which once surrounded the city as well as the right part of the frame merges with the Marble Sea. The very next panorama over KARAKOY city district across the Bosphorus accords out attention to the famous GALATA TOWER.    

HAGIA SOPHIA

The short sequence of the way to the city center is now followed with the frame of a helicopter having its way above one of the most well-known and treasured holy places in the Christian world, known as HAGIA SOPHIA (Church of the Holy Wisdom) in Istanbul. The bottom side of the same perspective reveals the crowds of people, as well as the emergency automobiles and the upper background, shows us Gulhane Park and Topkapi Palace. When Professor and Elizabeth finally get to the place, they are guided to the HAGIA SOPHIA in order to find the tomb of HENRICUS DANDOLO and the answer that has once again chosen the wrong place.   

YEREBATAN SARCINI – BASILICA CISTERN

Albeit the fact that that the opening tourist hours are generally restricted at 5.30 PM in the evening, this very day is being made an exception by means of the music concert down there.  Despite Robert’s whoops that they now have to find their way across the labyrinth, all main events of the movie are unfolded within the main hall, to be no more than a big a rectangular box with a branchy line of the pathways. The water depth inside the Basilica is, in fact, a waist-high, as it was depicted in a movie. After all incredible and dangerous events and challenges, Robert and Elizabeth take their time on the street near Yerebatan Sarcini.   

BACK AGAIN TO FLORENCE

In the wake of all past events, professor Langdon considers one last doing to be willing to oblige. He has to replace the death mask of Dante Alighieri to the Palazzo Vecchio museum. Another dawn panorama over Florence takes us above the Arno river, with Ponte Vecchio, in the direction of the city center. The semi-comedian dialogue with a museum guard reveals that the famous treasure is now back again in-place and Robert is open for new adventures in the future.